The treatment of drug and alcohol addiction is often misunderstood, even by people who are trying to get themselves into a treatment program. Many people, for example, do not realize that there are numerous different types of recovery programs that a person can choose from for their addiction treatment. Additionally, if the differences between recovery programs are not properly considered, a person may put themselves in a position in which they are likely to struggle and relapse in the future.

What Are Recovery Programs?

Recovery programs are designed to help a person who is addicted to alcohol or drugs to overcome that addiction. They are structured and sequenced in very specific ways to ensure that all of the recovery needs of the person addicted to drugs or alcohol are met and that both the physical and mental addictions that a person has are dealt with. Programs are created using a base of what are known as models of recovery that help to develop the sequencing and structure that makes each program effective and unique.

What Are Some Of The Models Of Recovery?

The models of recovery are the philosophical and psychological basis of the programs for addiction recovery. While each model is distinct and has its own unique emphasis, they can be combined together in the development of treatment programs and programs of recovery to make these programs more comprehensive.

Motivational Interviewing Model

In the motivational interviewing model of addiction recovery, the main emphasis is placed on the relationships that develop between therapists and the recovering addict. In most instances, when a therapist is helping a client or patient with an issue, the relationship is one that is distanced and professional in nature.

However, when it comes to treating addiction, this type of relationship between the therapist and recovering addict will not necessarily work. This is because a recovering addict may be untrusting of figures that are distant and authoritative. Additionally, the recovering addict must be motivated themselves to overcome their addiction rather than reliant on someone else to lead the way.

As such in the motivational interviewing model of addiction recovery, the relationship between the therapist and the addict is one of an alliance. When the therapist is an ally rather than an authority figure, the recovering addict feels as if they are guiding and in charge of their own recuperation rather than reliant on someone else to do so. This creates a sense of autonomy and responsibility that will help a recovering addict to remain sober and to avoid relapse after treatment is complete.

Motivational Incentives Model

The motivational incentives model of addiction recovery also focuses on a person’s motivation for recovery but in a different way. In this model of recovery, the therapists and program designers recognize that many recovering addict have a difficult time getting motivated to engage in their treatments and recovery. Much of this has to do with the fact that when a person is addicted to a drug or alcohol, the reward centers in their brain begins to associate desire and pleasure only with that addicted substance.

This change in the way the brain works can be difficult to overcome even after detox. However, if the recovering addict is offered a tangible reward for attending and participating in their treatments, then those reward centers of the brain are activated and the recovering addict begins to realize that they can experience contentment and motivation for recovery rather than just the addicted substance.